Photocatalytic Redox-Neutral Approach to Diarylmethanes

Org Lett. 2021 Sep 3;23(17):6936-6940. doi: 10.1021/acs.orglett.1c02523. Epub 2021 Aug 24.

Abstract

We report a visible-light induced redox-neutral decarboxylative cross coupling reaction of indole-3-acetic acid NHPI esters with indoles using a Ru photosensitizer to deliver a wide range of symmetrical and unsymmetrical 3,3'-bisindolylmethane derivatives. Furthermore, the reaction is readily adapted to the preparation of a wide variety of diarylmethane derivatives.